Kingsley D32 or /13 ERT33?

[granite]

I thought I had settled on my new amp then you b*st*rds go an introduced me to Divided by 13 amps. So now I am unsure which to buy. To complicate matters, i will not be able to play either amp personally before purchasing. I'm relying on soundclips, reviews, and recording of artists using the amps in question.

I want a great clean channel amp for guitar driven, jangley, pop/rock style of music. Think Gin Blossoms, Toad the Wet Sprocket, with a touch of Better than Ezra. I mainly use a Melancon Classic Artist Strat type of guitar with a HB in the bridge. I don't need super high gain OD, but a nice dirt channel would be a plus.
Onboard reverb is a must. Given this info, which would you choose and why? Anything else I should consider?

 

[tjs]

I have never heard a better EL84 clean than that produced by the D32.

 

[Gril Grissom]

÷13 RSA31!!! class ab clean, and raunch galore - best of both worlds. you won'tbe disapoimted call Fred

 

[Mastervolume]

I just had Fred update my ERT 33 to RSA 31 specs.

So...it is now a RSA31 with reverb.

Killer amp. I am really happy.

 

[themusicboxstudios]

Originally posted by Mastervolume
I just had Fred update my ERT 33 to RSA 31 specs.

So...it is now a RSA31 with reverb.

Killer amp. I am really happy.

tell us more! does it sound exactly like a rsa31 now? that seems like it would be better than an rsa31 alone cuz you get freds awsome reverb.

 

[57special]

I've only played the /13 SJT 10/20. Have owned a Deluxe 30. Hmm. Tough choice. Both have great reverbs. Both have very nice clean sounds. The dirt is different. /13 is very aggressive and toothy when turned up, while the Kingsley is squishier, and more controlled. I think the Kingley is made for strats, but the /13 certainly doesn't suck, either.
They are actually quite different in feel. The Kingsley is more relaxed, while the /13 seems to always want to be let out of it's cage. The kingsley would be better for trad or fusion jazz , i think, while the /13 might be a better rock amp. Both would make terrific blues amps.
Get both!

 

[wordsonyou]

I had the exact amps as 57special (and I mean the very same ones!) and agree with his opinion. I will say that the Kingsley has the most variety of el84 tones I have ever heard in one amp and that the cleans are my favorite of any el84 amps. Plus the distortion is so up my alley- grind with no squishy fuzz. I have only ever heard a 10/20 and an ftr for /13's but wanted to give props to Kingsley, you have no idea how many boutique el84 amps the Kingsley has replaced for me.

 

[bobbymack]

Originally posted by wordsonyou
I had the exact amps as 57special (and I mean the very same ones!) and agree with his opinion. I will say that the Kingsley has the most variety of el84 tones I have ever heard in one amp and that the cleans are my favorite of any el84 amps. Plus the distortion is so up my alley- grind with no squishy fuzz. I have only ever heard a 10/20 and an ftr for /13's but wanted to give props to Kingsley, you have no idea how many boutique el84 amps the Kingsley has replaced for me.

+1 on the Kingsley's tonal variety, awesome cleans, and well described OD...I am just loving my D30 head. I've been running it through a Burt Antique Pine cab with a Blue and a G12H30, and am getting some really great tones.

Plus, I'm a Les Paul / 335 player. I know most guys (including Simon) consider the D30 first and foremost a Strat player's amp, but I am thrilled with mine for hb tones. I too have been through numerous EL84 amps, most have no headroom with humbucker guitars but this one is a very flexible, supremely toneful keeper.

All that said, I'm not ragging on the /13 33 by any means...I thought McCartney's guitar player at the Super Bowl halftime show had some of the best live guitar tone I've heard in a long time. No joke.

 

[Swampash]

Just to muddy the water a little, you might want to wait for the new 65 Amps Marquee Club 36 watt amp. It'll be shown at NAMM in January, and you could probably pre-order one through one of their dealers.

I have the 65 Amps London, and the only area where it would fall short (for your requirements) is clean headroom...it has plenty for my needs (volume-wise), but you may need more than an 18 watt EL84 amp can supply. Actually, now that I think of it, the final design is not yet "frozen", but it might not have built-in reverb. Call Dan Boul, he'd let you know what's up.

 

[granite]

Thanks for all the input everyone! I don't know what I'm going to do . This is a good problem to have. I spoke to Fred briefly yesterday. Now I am also looking at the FTR. A 6v6 amp but it would meet my needs. It may just come down to value. Simon's Kingsley amps are such a great deal with the exchange rate (He's in Canada). I'll let you know what I decide. Both Fred and Simon are just awesome to work with. They are really customer focused. A+ to both gents.

 

[57special]

My 335 sounded wonderful with my Kingsley, but a bit honky with a LP (like an old Vox). Mine was an older D30, and simon has tweaked the circuit since then to accomodate Pauls better.
The 65 amp is not really the same as a D30 at all. Can't say how close it would be to a ERT 33, but i would also say it's much more "Brit' than an SJT 10/20.
They are all fine amps, but the one that grabbed me most was the Kingsley. Didn't hurt the ears as much as the /13, and had far more features and capabilities than the 65. Could be just me, as i know of people who had the Kingsley and sold it shortly thereafter. In fact, one of them ditched his Kingsley and sold it for a 65 amp London, which he loves!

 

[Dave LaP]

Originally posted by 57special
. Could be just me, as i know of people who had the Kingsley and sold it shortly thereafter. In fact, one of them ditched his Kingsley and sold it for a 65 amp London, which he loves!

Hey 57. How are you? That comment above sounds like me.

I can compare the Kingsley to the London 65amps but not to the D13.

Buying an amp without playing it first is one of the hardest things to do. I thought I'd love the Kinglsey cleans based on the clips and it just didn't do it for me personally. The OD was excellent though. The Kingsley didn't have the clean headroom I was hoping for either. In fact I think the Vox side of my London has a bit more with the cathode boost engaged.

 

[bobbymack]

Originally posted by Dave LaP I thought I'd love the Kinglsey cleans based on the clips and it just didn't do it for me personally. The OD was excellent though. The Kingsley didn't have the clean headroom I was hoping for either. In fact I think the Vox side of my London has a bit more with the cathode boost engaged.

Wow. The Kingsley has the most clean headroom and the best clean tone (except for perhaps a tie with Bruno UG30) I've ever experienced in a 4xEL84 amp. And I'm a humbucker guy who's been through alot of EL84 amps, most due to lack of headroom.

Ah well, that's what makes the world spin around I s'pose...

 

[wordsonyou]

Originally posted by bobbymack
Wow. The Kingsley has the most clean headroom and the best clean tone (except for perhaps a tie with Bruno UG30) I've ever experienced in a 4xEL84 amp. And I'm a humbucker guy who's been through alot of EL84 amps, most due to lack of headroom.

Ah well, that's what makes the world spin around I s'pose...

That's certainly been my experience too. If you need more clean headroom you may as well get a fender twin imo.

 

[studio8000]

the D13 ERT has plenty of clean headroom on the reverb channel. i cant imagine needing much more for most gigs. plus now with the RSA31 mod, the amp sounds even better. great midrange frequencies but with the ERT reverb.
never tried a Kingsley. but the ERT/RSA is incredible sounding.

 

[57special]

Originally posted by Dave LaP
Hey 57. How are you? That comment above sounds like me.

I can compare the Kingsley to the London 65amps but not to the D13.

Buying an amp without playing it first is one of the hardest things to do. I thought I'd love the Kinglsey cleans based on the clips and it just didn't do it for me personally. The OD was excellent though. The Kingsley didn't have the clean headroom I was hoping for either. In fact I think the Vox side of my London has a bit more with the cathode boost engaged.

I liked the gain side of the Kingsley, but loved the clean channel. Usually only played on 1/2 power, and still found it to have enough headroom. On full power i found it to have WAY more headroom than the 65 London. ??? Partly because of Dave's experience with his Kingsley, i 'm reluctant to go over the top in reccomending an amp to anyone, as we all hear things differently.

 

[Dave LaP]

Originally posted by 57special
I liked the gain side of the Kingsley, but loved the clean channel. Usually only played on 1/2 power, and still found it to have enough headroom. On full power i found it to have WAY more headroom than the 65 London. ??? Partly because of Dave's experience with his Kingsley, i 'm reluctant to go over the top in reccomending an amp to anyone, as we all hear things differently.

Hey Rob,

I was talking about just the clean tones not the gain input. AND I could be wrong. I didn't A/B them side by side. It was months apart. My memory could be faulty.


I usually have a pretty good idea of what kind of amp will float my boat so the whole Kingsley thing is kind of a mystery to me. I would actually take my thoughts on the matter with a grain of salt since I seem to be in the minority. Maybe I was in a strange frame of mind at the time. I WAS quitting smoking......Or maybe a tube thing? I dunno...I just don't know.

Philosophically speaking, I guess there wouldnt' be the need for something like the Gear Page if we all heard everything exactly the same all the time.

 

[Dave LaP]

Originally posted by bobbymack
Wow. The Kingsley has the most clean headroom and the best clean tone (except for perhaps a tie with Bruno UG30) I've ever experienced in a 4xEL84 amp. And I'm a humbucker guy who's been through alot of EL84 amps, most due to lack of headroom.

Ah well, that's what makes the world spin around I s'pose...

I thought my UG 30 had a lot more clean headroom then the Kingsley too. ...I wonder if I was having a tube problem and didn't know it....

 

[tjs]

I haven't had any problems with headroom when using HB guitars with my D32. In fact, I don't believe I've played through an amp that cleans up better with the guitar's volume control. I can set the amp with a good amount of grit and get pristine sparkling clean sounds by rolling off the volume. This is using the gain channel with the gain switch on, and the resulting clean tone is as clear as a bell and loud enough to be heard over the band.

 

[57special]

In any event Dave, the 65 is a terrific amp, very easy to figure out and get a good, if not great, sound. Seemed to like about every guitar , too. If one channel didn't suit a guitar, the other one usually did.